Andrew House, president and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., speaks during a news conference at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. Since taking over as chief executive officer of Sony Corp. in April 2012, Kaz Hirai has trumpeted what he calls a One Sony vision -- that he can deliver better returns making televisions, mobile phones and consoles under the same roof as movies and TV shows, video games and music. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Andrew House less

Andrew House, president and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., speaks during a news conference at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, ... more

Photo: Patrick T. Fallon, Bloomberg

TiVo Network DVR service moves to the cloud

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

Las Vegas --

TiVo introduced a cloud-based networked DVR service at the Consumer Electronics Show Tuesday, a historic move because it's the first time the Alviso company has branched out from its long-held strategy of selling set-top boxes.

The Network DVR service that TiVo unveiled at the show is only a prototype, and executives say the company is still negotiating with cable services to bring the service to customers.

But TiVo observers have long speculated that the company would move to offer its service without a box, especially in an era when TV viewing has become increasingly reliant on streaming and online services.

Latest news videos

"It's an extension of our strategies, especially on the operator side," said James Denney, vice president of product management.

"Realistically, we see a spectrum of ways to interact with our customers. We believe you're still going to have a set-top box in many instances, you're going to have a service in other instances, and you're going to have people doing iPad only. Our purpose is to create a good cross-section of opportunities."

TiVo has been moving toward a network DVR service for some time by adding in-home and out-of-home streaming services to its set-top boxes. In August, the company launched its latest TiVo Roamio service, which among other features includes the ability to stream or move recorded shows to an iPad.

Denney demonstrated the Network DVR service, which uses the same TiVo screens and menus, but with features not possible on a set-top box with a finite amount of storage space.

One is the ability to cache up to seven days of programming from every channel. That would mean, for example, that a network DVR user could view a past news show or TV episode within that week even if they did not intentionally record it. In the demo, programs available under this feature were marked with a TiVo logo inside a cloud icon. TiVo has designed its Network DVR to allow a cable operator to offer tiers of service to allow such features.

The company long held onto its strategy of selling its enhanced TV services with the boxes, although analysts have speculated it could expand further if it became more of a software-as-a-service company. The Network DVR could move TiVo in that direction without giving up its base of customers who use set-top boxes.

But what's unknown still is how many cable operators will sign on to Network DVR or how much it will cost customers.

Vroom vroom: If electric Teslas don't seem cool enough to you, maybe the all-electric racing car that made its first public appearance at the International CES can change your mind.

This Spark-Renault SRT_01E, which made its first public driving appearance Monday in a back parking lot at the Mandalay Bay hotel, is part of an effort to create a Formula E racing series around the world starting in September in Beijing. There are 10 teams and 20 drivers set for 10 races in cities that include Los Angeles and Miami in 2015.

Although the car emits a whiny buzz not unlike a remote-control toy, these babies are supposed to go from zero to 60 in three seconds and top out at about 140 mph. Sure, they'll have to stop and recharge every 20 to 30 minutes, but they still look fun to drive.

As Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said during Monday's press conference, there's still a public perception that electric cars "are not cool, slow, they don't go very far. By showing these cars racing, by showing these cars in action, we want to convince people to get an electric car."

In particular, the Spanish businessman wants to change the perceptions of younger generations so that "when they buy a car, the first car they buy is an electric car. And this is a long-term process that will work though technology."

And with racing teams always competing to make their cars faster, maybe they'll come up with technology breakthroughs that will translate to consumer electric cars, he said.

San Diego mobile technology giant Qualcomm is a founding sponsor of the circuit. The car charges wirelessly by parking over a special mat, which is not unlike the wireless charging technology the company already promotes.

"We see a future where the electric vehicles are common place, where the technology has evolved enough so that it can be inexpensive and efficient enough so that everybody can afford to have an electric vehicle," Jacobs said.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.